8 replies to this topic

[resveratrol]

It turns out that titanium oxide -- found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins -- causes significant systemic damage to the DNA of mice.

http://www.scienceda...91116165739.htm

I'm no biochemist, but I have a very hard time imagining it could have any different effect in humans; the basic machinery of DNA is far too similar between ourselves and mice for me to imagine titanium oxide could somehow be less dangerous for humans than it is for mice.

So, that's really scary.

I'm not sure what percentage of vitamins actually contain titanium oxide, but it seems to me that it could potentially mean that a lot of vitamin studies would need to be revised to eliminate the harmful effects of titanium dioxide.

More importantly:

I apparently have this junk in my body messing with my DNA. Certainly I can take a lot of antioxidants to help deal with the oxidative properties, but how do I get rid of it?

Can it be chelated?

A Google search was unhelpful in this regard, since word doesn't seem to have spread yet as to the potential dangers of this chemical that was previously considered "safe."

Edited by resveratrol, 18 November 2009 - 11:53 PM.

[niner]

I think the Science Daily article is making a mistake. Most of the TiO2 in consumer products is not in the form of nanoparticles. There are nanoparticle sunscreens. There's no reason in the world to put TiO2 nanoparticles in a pill. TiO2 powder is used all over the place, and has been for ages. It's a white pigment.

[maxwatt]

My father held many of the original patents for the use and formulation of titanium dioxide as a pigment. As a chemical compound, it is about as inert as you can get. It's really hard to break the metal-oxygen bond. Consequently it's about as non-toxic as a compound can be, passing through your gut unchanged if eaten, not interacting with the skin, and it does not accumulate.

Nano particles of any kind are a different story. Their small size allows them to interact mechanically with large molecules in unforeseen ways, something a chemist would not normally consider. Silver and platinum nano-particles have also recently become suspect as carcinogens. It's probable that no nano-particle is safe due to the potential for physical interaction within one's cells. Asbestos for comparison is not chemically toxic, but the microscopically sharp particles rupture cell walls and the physical injury can induce cancer. It's a similar effect. The larger particles used in pigments and in pill coatings are still thought to be inert, and not dangerous. But yes, I'd avoid nano-particles in sunscreens and other things, particularly if they are sprays with the potential for entering the lungs.

[okok]

What's the particle size distribution, is there still a fraction of nano particles in normal TiO2?

[maxwatt]

What's the particle size distribution, is there still a fraction of nano particles in normal TiO2?

Short answer: No.

[rollo]

So people who use sunscreens with titanium dioxide are 'safe'?

[EmbraceUnity]

How do we know which sunscreens contain nanoparticles and which do not?

[niner]

So people who use sunscreens with titanium dioxide are 'safe'?

Not if they are nano-sized. If it is an opaque white sunscreen, then it's probably not nano, so it's probably ok. If it's transparent to optical wavelengths, but still contains TiO2, then it is probably nano.

[okok]

Schiestl said the nanoparticles cannot go through skin, so he recommends using a lotion sunscreen. Spray-on sunscreens could potentially be inhaled and the nanoparticles can become lodged in the lungs.

it's a pita not to get it in your eyes. also what constitutes nano? virtually all sunscreens with tio2 i came across are opaque, to varying degrees, and that might depend on tio2 content.